The ERC Steering Group provides advice on the strategic direction of the Centre, providing advice on activities and actions that will help it achieve its aims. The Steering Group also provides guidance and practical support with communications and dissemination activities.
The Steering Group meets twice a year. It has an independent Chair, Jane Galsworthy, and membership is drawn from the ERC’s stakeholder and research community.
Alex Till
Chairman of the National Enterprise Network (NEN) – CEO MENTA
Alex Till is Chief Executive of MENTA, the Suffolk Enterprise Agency, and Chairman of the National Enterprise Network, championing enterprise support nationally and internationally. Over more than a decade leading MENTA, he has helped over 50,000 micro and small businesses across the East of England through business hubs, training programmes, and co-working spaces. Since 2018, as Chair of the National Enterprise Network, Alex has advised government on small business policy and promoted enterprise support across the UK. His international experience includes collaboration on enterprise initiatives in Sweden, France, Germany, and Italy, and he supported the opening of a new NEN office in Leipzig.
David Bharier
Head of Research, British Chambers of Commerce
David is Head of Research at the British Chambers of Commerce and leads on the delivery of the Chamber Network’s national survey programme, which analyses business attitudes towards a range of policy areas, including taxation, labour market conditions, international trade, and Brexit. The analysis is reported widely across the media and is briefed across the UK Government and Bank of England.
Delma Dwight
Director of Black Country Economic Intelligence Unit & Director of Midlands Engine Observatory
Delma Dwight has been pioneering the development, implementation and leadership of an evidence-based approach to policy and strategy development across the Midlands for over 20 years.
Delma was educated in Ireland and holds a First-Class Honours degree (Batchelors) in Commerce from University College Galway and an Honours Masters (MA) in Economics from University College Dublin and holds a Visiting Professorship with the University of Wolverhampton.
Jane Galsworthy
Managing Director, Oxford Innovation Advice
As Managing Director of Oxford Innovation Advice, Jane Galsworthy champions SMEs and entrepreneurs. For over 20 years, she has led teams in developing and delivering impactful business support programmes that help businesses and economies grow. She has also been instrumental in developing leading business diagnostic tools such as GROWTHmapper®, creating new approaches to delivering high impact support and championing analysis of SME data to inform SME policy development. With a PhD in chemistry and a background in scientific research as well as policy development, she is passionate about innovation. Since November 2022, Jane has additionally been the independent Chair of the Enterprise Research Centre’s Steering Group. Her extensive experience working with businesses, universities and policymakers across the UK, means she is uniquely positioned to provide valuable insights into the business support landscape and the needs of SMEs.
Jonathan Slow
Team Leader, Economic Research & Performance Analysis, Scottish Enterprise
Jonathan Slow manages economics, research and performance analytical activities at Scottish Enterprise; this role encompasses a wide-range of research-based activities as well as ongoing economic reviews and analysis if Scottish Enterprise measures data. He has a background in economic development and has contributed to many projects supporting the growth and development of Scottish businesses. Part of Jonathan’s time in Scottish Enterprise also involved working in the international arm, Scottish Development International, where he developed the ACE framework for trade support that is used by the Scottish Government and helped to develop approaches to support the international activities of Scottish-based businesses beyond exporting. He also worked in trade development and inward investment support.
Lee Hopley
Director, Economic Insight and Research, UK Finance Director
Lee is currently Director of Economic Insight and Research at UK Finance and is responsible the collection and dissemination of data relating to the support the finance sector provides to business and households. Lee and the team provide the data and research service to UK Finance members and produce public commentary and analysis on trends in the banking and finance sector, including data relating to household and business finance, trends in payments, and fraud related indicators. She is also responsible for the programme of research and analysis which informs UK Finance’s policy and representation activities. She was previously Deputy Director at the Enterprise Research Centre and Chief Economist at EEF, the manufactures’ organisation (now Make UK).
Liz Barclay
Small Business Commissioner for the UK
Liz Barclay is an entrepreneur, broadcaster, journalist, writer and author specialising in small business, personal finance and consumer affairs. She is currently working with the IoD as Small Business and Entrepreneurship lead, with technology firms on the adoption and effective use of technology for small and micro businesses, and with businesses of all sizes on strategy, governance, employee engagement, inclusivity and communications. This follows a four-year role as the UK’s Small Business Commissioner with the remit of resolving payment disputes and improving practices
Nida Broughton
Director of Economic Policy, Behavioural Insights Team
Nida Broughton is the Director of Economic Policy at the Behavioural Insights Team, where she oversees BIT's work on productivity, consumer policy, employment, sustainability and diversity & inclusion. Previously, she was Chief Economist at the Social Market Foundation. She has also worked at the House of Commons, where she provided economic advice to MPs and select committees, and at Ofcom, where she led research on the application of behavioural economics to market regulation.
Paul Wilson
Policy Director, Federation of Small Businesses
Paul Wilson is the Policy Director at the Federation of Small Businesses. FSB aims to provide a voice for the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses and the self-employed. Paul’s policy team publishes regular reports on a range of topics, recently including business energy prices, skills and training, and access to finance. Prior to joining FSB, Paul was a director at the Law Society.
Richard Jeffery
National Director, GC Business
Richard Jeffery is National Director of GC Business, part of The Growth Company, a social enterprise dedicated to enabling growth, creating jobs and improving lives; GC Business helps transform over 35,000 businesses a year across the UK. Richard is leading the national expansion of The Growth Company’s support services.
Sian Price
Research and Partnership Manager, Development Bank of Wales
Sian is Research and Partnership Manager at the Development Bank of Wales and leads on the Development Bank’s research collaboration, Economic Intelligence Wales. The other partners to the collaboration are Cardiff Business School, Bangor Business School, the Enterprise Research Centre, and the Office for National Statistics. Economic Intelligence Wales produces quarterly and topical reports on the Welsh economy, with a particular focus on SMEs and SME access to finance issues.
Tim Vorley
Deputy Director, Productivity Insights Network
Tim is Deputy Director of the ESRC funded Productivity Insights Network and leads the Innovation Caucus funded by Innovate UK/ESRC.
Verity Davidge
Director of Policy at Make UK
Verity is the Director of Policy at Make UK, representing and championing manufacturing in the UK and supporting businesses around the country. She leads in directing the organisation’s policy work, raising the profile of manufacturing and ensuring that the views of Make UK’s members are heard by the Government and wider policy makers. She regularly represents Make UK in the media and in Parliament, appearing before Select Committees and All Party Parliamentary Groups, as well as sitting on Government led boards and advisory groups.
